Copyholder



Patented Oct. 7, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE .z,s12,s65 I 1 v COPYHOLDE T Q John L. Macaulay and Alfeo D'al Favero, Q

Corte-Madera, Galif. I 1 f Application August 1, 1950, scnaina'ivvgose This invention relates to a new and improved copyholder.

The particular embodiment of the present invention illustrated in the drawings and which will be described hereinafter in more detail, comprises, generally, a pair of legs consisting of rectangular sections of sheet material connected hingedly to one another adjacent their upper ends and movable toward and away from one another from a collapsed position to a spread position. One of the legs is formed to present a relatively flat copy supportingsurface. A spring actuated clamping jaw supported pivotally adjacent the upper portion of the device'is provided or formed with a depending flange engageable with the copy supporting surface, and an aperture formed in the supporting surface permits convenient manual access to the underside of said flange to facilitate manual opening of the clamping jaw.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a copyholder of the type generally referred to above which is so constructed as ,to be particularly adapted for supporting typewriting instruction books or similar copy. The arrangement of parts comprising the present invention is such that convenient rapid insertion and withdrawal of copy with respect to the holder can be accomplished.

A more particular object of the present invention is to provide in a copyholder of the type hereinbefore mentioned, novel means adapted to permit convenient manual access to the underside of the clamping jaw whereby an operator is enabled to manipulate the jaw with comparative ease and facility when inserting copy in said holder.

Another more specific object of the present invention is to provide a copyholder wherein the copy clamping jaw operates wholly independently of any of the other elements comprising the device.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding part in each of the several views.

In the drawings: Fig. l is a perspective view of the copyholder with the legs thereof extended to spread position.

-1 Claim. (Cl. 120 -28) Fig. 5 is ase'ctional view taken along line 5+5 o f iFi'g'. 4. f l I Referring'now more particularly. to thejdrawings the present invention comprises, generally, a pairof hingedly united legs, indicated generally at A and B, respectively, and a spring actuated clamping jaw, indicatedfgenerally at C. The device may beformed of any suitable material such i as sheet metal or sheet plastic.

} Leg A of the device is formed to present a relatively large and "substantially flat copy support ing surfacefi whichtermina'tes at its bottom e'xtremities in an outwardly projectiiigiQsiippOl tin'g ledge 1. The upper'end of supportingsurface 6 is bent tofotm an upper clamping shelf which is angularly disposed with respect to, the plane ofsurfa'ce 5.

Leg B is shorter than leg A so that whenthe legs are spreadpo'sition the degree of'angular incline of. surface t and the copy supported therebytwiii beprq'perfor desk cop readin :L'e'g'B more specifically comprises a rectangular section of sheet material (such as sheet metal) preferably formed with a fold alongits bottom edge to ing one or more hinge elements [4 secured toshelf 8 by rivets IE or the like is adapted to hingedly support clamping jaw C. One or more, and

preferably two, coil springs mounted about hinge pin H are arranged to normally spring bias clamping jaw C to a closed position. Shelf 8 and the one or more hinge elements I4 define an upper clamping surface cooperable with clamping jaw C to secure copy to the holder.

Clamping jaw C comprises, more specifically, a body portion I8 which terminates in a depending flange portion Hi. When the clamping jaw is in normally closed position, flange l9 thereof engages the upper portion of copy supporting surface 6 of leg A.

A novel feature of the present invention resides in forming an aperture, indicated at 2!,

through the upper supporting surface of leg A v with respect to the clamping jaw whereby flange portion is of the jaw partially overlies the aperture when the former is in closed position. The aperture is proportioned to permit insertion therethrough of a thumb or finger of an operator so that manual access to the underside of flange portion I!) is permitted. This arrangement permits a user to obtain a firm manual grip on the underside of the flange to facilitate opening of the jaw when copy is to be inserted in theholder.

The operation of the device is illustrated in Fig. 3 wherein it is seen thatthe back or binding of copy is firmly clamped between clamping jaw C and the clamping surface established by shelf 8' and hinge elements Id. The arrangement of parts is such that pages or sheets of copy may be turned over to flatly overlie the top of the device and extend down the back side of leg B thereof.

As heretofore indicated the clamping mechanism of the present copyholder is particularly adaptable for supporting books such as typing instruction books which are provided normally with rather deep or long backings or bindings, such as indicated at 25,,against which the clamping elements of the device may operate.

Moreover, the particular construction of the clamping jaw makes the present device readily adaptable for supporting either single or multiple page copy. Thus, because the flange of the jaw is engageable with the copy supporting surface of leg A, a single sheet of copy can adequately be supported merely by clamping the upper edge of a said sheet between the flange and the copy supporting surface. Moreover, with multiple page copy, the flange, being angularly disposed with respect to the body of the clamping jaw, presents a generally streamlined construction and individual sheets of the copy (such as pages of a typing instruction book) can be turned back, one or more at a time, over the top of the device, and the sheets thus turned will lie comparatively flatly and snugly against the holder with no apparent tendency to flip over to the front of the holder.

When the copyholder is not in use the toggle link l2 may be folded to permit the legs to be collapsed toward one another to form a compact relatively flat package as shown in Fig. 2.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be made within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claim.

We claim: A copyholder comprising a front leg including a substantially flat supporting surface, the upper end of said front leg terminating in a rearwardly extending book binding supporting shelf disposed at an angle of more than 45 with respect to the plane of said flat supporting surface of said front leg, a rear leg joined hingedly to the rearward marginal extremities of said shelf, a book binding spring clamp pivotally secured by a hinge connection to said shelf above and adjacent the hinge joint between said rear leg and said shelf, said clamp comprising an integral piece of sheet material substantially L-shaped in cross section defining first and second clamping surfaces, the first surfaces of said clamp extending forwardly from said hinge connection and being substantially coextensive in length and width to the lengthan d width of said shelf and arranged to overlie said shelf when said clamp is spring biased in closed position, the second surface of said clamp establishing a flange depending downwardly from the forward extremities of said first surface engageable against the upper portion of said supporting surface of said front leg when said clamp is spring biased in closed position.

JOHN L. MACAULAY. ALFEO DAL FAVERO.

REFERENCES .CITED The following references are of record in the tile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

